He Is More Than That
by hanalunaw
Summary: Neji x Tenten Two months after the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, Tenten is still grieving over her best friend's death. Just as she is about to fall down, someone -oh so familiar- catches her. Literally. XXX Book cover doesn't belong to me. Credit goes to it's rightful owner Nejiten XXX


Neji x Tenten

I don't own any of the characters.

 **Summary**

Two months after the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, Tenten is still grieving over her best friend's death. Just as she is about to fall down, someone -oh so familiar- catches her. Literally.

 **Chapter 1**

 _He was more than a Hyuuga_

"Tenten, are you there?" A small voice was heard on the other side of my door. I slowly opened my eyes, looking at the clock that was on my nightstand.

5:34 am.

I sighed and walked to the door. It was two months after the Fourth Shinobi war, two months after Neji's death. _No, Tenten._ _Don't think about it_. I shook my head and forced myself to smile. "Give me five minutes, Lee!" I called out.

I ran to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. Giving a quick glance at the mirror, I sighed. There were bags under my eyes, but I blamed it to the lack of sleep because of the missions Lord Kakashi gave us. I quickly walked to the closet and wore my usual training attire.

I skipped breakfast for now, because we always ate after training. I picked my keys from the dinnertable and opened the door to see my teammate in front of me.

"Goodmorning Lee." I smiled and yawned. He gave me a big grin in return. "Morning Tenten. Let's train till our hearts can't take it and show Gai-Sensei how much we have improved!"

Lee's will of Youth probably became one of the reasons why I still managed to train. It was so hard, still, to accept that I lost someone so precious. But I am happy Lee's optimism was effective.

We sprinted towards the empty streets. Since it was early, a lot of the villagers were still asleep. Somehow, that made me feel at ease, gathering my thoughts together without being distracted. We greeted some guards and made our way to our usual training ground a little outside the village.

The sun was about to rise, so the sun rays reflected beautifully on the small lake in front of us. It was a beautiful sight. "So beautiful." I smiled.

Then I heard a loud scream and I felt a foot on the sides of my stomach. I stumbled back and glared at the person in front of me, who was standing in a defense pose. "LEE!!!" I managed to say after I finally caught my breath and checked to see if I had to pay a visit to Sakura.

"The fire of youth is burning inside of me, I had to share it with you!!" Lee grinned. I sighed. _Really? By kicking me in the stomach?_ I laughed and summoned two swords. I threw one towards Lee's direction and he caught it without hesitation.

I smirked and lowered my gaze, fixing my eyes on Lee's movement. "Let's start our training." I whispered.

A few hours later, we both were breathing heavily. Correction, I was the only one. "Lee, please, I am at my limit." I sighed as I wiped away some sweat from my forehead. I wore my hair in two pigtails buns, but after three hours of fighting with Lee, they ended up like two messy buns. "Let's call it a day, ok?"

He hesitated but gave in. "Fine, maybe I can ask Naruto to train with me in the afternoon." I nodded and smiled. Knowing Lee for so many years, convincing him to take break is like convincing Naruto to stop eating ramen.

Impossible.

We said our goodbyes and walked towards our home. I was walking around as I enjoyed the weather. It was December, but the weather in Konoha never seems to never dissapoint me.

Memories of Neji flooded my mind. Why am I the only one still grieving over him? It was an honor to die for your country. He died as a hero, sacrificing himself to save his precious friends. A tear slipped from my eyes.

Many saw him as Hyuuga Neji, member of the Hyuuga branch family. His fighting skills were undeniable, earning him the rank of Jõnin. His analyzing skills always helped us making missions easier, the way he took each opportunity to read his enemy's movements were amazing.

I sighed, but he was more than. He was more than a shinobi of the Hidden Village of Fire.

No one seemed to see how he puts so much trust in those he loves. His determination to strive to be better. But the way he always seek freedom, it hurt me. He didn't reveal much of his past and I never wanted to push beyond the walls he built to protect his heart. But there was one day, one special day.

 _2 years ago*_

 _"Why must we be seperated?!" I sighed and sat on the cold floor._

 _Walking through the forest, we were left behind by Gai sensie and Lee. We were on our way back to the village when we were caught in a trap. No one seemed to notice that someone dug a big hole in the ground and probably used an Earth style jutsu make it seems like there was no hole at all. Gai and Lee used the opportunity to ran on the tree branches and challenged each other to a race._

 _They were way ahead of us, but luckily Neji was still here with me._

 _Neji and I decided that we walked instead. He sighed and I gave him a small smile. "How they manage to have this much energy, it amazes me." He murmered._

 _I giggled and looked at him. The mission was to escort an important person back to their home, it wasn't hard but we had to fight a few rogue ninjas who wanted to steal their belongings._

 _"I am sure you have as much energy as Gai sensei and Lee left," I smiled. "But thank you, for still keeping me company." He looked at my wounded arm. I accidentaly cut myself while summoning one of my long swords when we fought those rogue ninjas._

 _"Are you okay, Tenten?" He was worried, I could tell from his face expression. I laughed it off. "Of course! I am Tenten." I proudly walked faster and did some fighting moves. I jumped in the air, but that really wasn't a good idea._

 _"Ow ow." I cried out, but not when I realized that I landed on the trap and the ground was torn open. "Tenten!" Neji screamed and quickly followed me._

 _We both landed far deeper into the ground and I hissed, rubbing my back. "Neji, are you okay?" I looked at him and checked to see if he was okay, which it seemed as there weren't even wrinkles in his outfit. I, on the other hand, looked as if I ran a marathon._

 _"Well, what do we do now.. Gai sensei and Lee are already back in the village by now." Plans of escaping this plsce were filling my mind. Jump? Wait, how can we jump 10 feet in the air? "Maybe we can climb?" I suggested. Neji shook his head and sighed. "It's too soft to grip on this." I sighed. "So we have to wait." I concluded._

 _"Why must we be seperated?!" I sighed and sat on the cold floor. Neji took place next to me and was probably in deep thought. "Well, at least it's better than coming home." I heard him whisper._

 _"Do you want to talk about it?" I looked at him. I know that his heart was full of scars, but I never wanted him to push himself to tell me about his past. He never asked for mine either._

 _"I just.." He looked at nothing in particular, his mind was somewhere far away. "What if I wasn't born as a Hyuuga? What if I was just Neji. Free from the rules, free from my fate."_

 _"I just want to know how freedom feels like." H looked at me, my heart broke in million pieces. He looked so fragile in that moment, so weak._

 _My body reacted to my thoughts and I gave him a hug. "I am sorry you have to go through this." I whispered. "But you are so strong. I can tell that you are more than a Hyuuga. Never forget that you are more than your last name"_

 _Neji's body was frozen, as if he was in a trance by my hug. I quickly let him go and I felt my cheeks turned red. "I am sorr-"_

 _"Oi!!! Neji! Tenten!" We heard Lee screaming. We quickly looked up to see Gai sensei and Lee smiling to us. "We found you!" Gai sensei smiled and let a robe down for us. "Grab onto it and we will pull you up!"_

 _As we finally made our way out, I gave them a big hug. "THANK YOU!" I said happily. "How did you find us?" I asked. Gai sensei and Lee looked at each other before they smiled. "Hard work will always pays off! That's the secret of youth!"_

 _I looked at them and sighed. As they walked, i looked at Neji. He was already looking at me. "I am sorry for what happened just yet, I thought maybe you needed a hug." I smiled awkwardly._

 _"Thank you." he whispered._

"Wow." I was such in deep thought, I didn't realize I was somewhere deep in the forest. I laughed to myself, never have I caught myself being a dreamer. Let alone, getting lost in the woods. It started to rain so my vision wasn't clear. As I walked, the trees grew closer and closer to each other.

My heart started to beat faster. Where am I? Why can't I see the village? I need to go home. It started to rain heavily and I ran, hoping that somehow I can make it out alive. I didn't see the big rock in front of me and fell hard, I rolled away and just as I opened my eyes again, I realized I was falling from deep a cliff.

Is this the end?

 ** _Hi! My name is Hana and I am a new writer. I wanted to write this for quite some time but I never had the chance to start it, but now that it is up I hope you guys liked it!!!_**


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